About 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed in Israel and almost 240 hostages were taken, according to Israeli officials.
In Gaza, more than 11,100 people, also mostly civilians, have been killed in the war, the health ministry in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory has said.
Here are five key developments from the past 24 hours:
– Gaza City’s flashpoint hospital –
Intense fighting raged around Gaza City’s Al-Shifa hospital, where thousands of sick, wounded and displaced Palestinians are trapped.
The compound has been repeatedly hit by gunfire and strikes in recent days, one of which Gaza health officials said destroyed the cardiac ward on Sunday.
Witnesses confirmed a strike on the hospital, which AFP was unable to independently verify. Israel’s military has denied deliberately targeting the hospital.
Mohammad Zaqut, head of all hospitals in the Gaza Strip, told AFP the situation in Al-Shifa was “catastrophic.”
“No one can enter or leave” the hospital, he said.
– Netanyahu evokes hostage deal –
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US media a deal could be afoot to free hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, but declined to provide details for fear of scuttling the potential plan.
Asked on NBC show “Meet the Press” whether there was a potential deal, Netanyahu replied: “There could be.”
A Palestinian official in Gaza, however, blamed Netanyahu “for the delay and obstacles in reaching a preliminary agreement on the release of several prisoners”.
“He is not interested in finding them alive,” the source said on condition of anonymity. “He is only concerned with preserving his political future.”
– Deadly strike on UN compound –
The United Nations said several people were killed and wounded in strikes on a UN facility in Gaza City, where hundreds of Palestinians had taken refuge to escape the war.
“The shelling has reportedly resulted in a significant number of deaths and injuries,” the United Nations Development Programme said in a statement late Saturday.
In a separate incident, AFPTV footage showed a crater in the middle of a compound of a school run by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in Beit Lahia in north Gaza.
– 500 evacuated to Egypt –
Around 500 foreigners and dual nationals, as well as several wounded Palestinians, were evacuated from Gaza to Egypt, according to reports from both sides of the border.
Some “500 foreign nationals from 15 different countries entered Egypt”, an Egyptian security official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
AlQahera News, an outlet close to the Egyptian intelligence services, reported the crossing of an additional “seven wounded Palestinians” through the border terminal.
Rafah is the only crossing out of Gaza not controlled by Israel, and was closed on Friday and Saturday.
– Hezbollah ‘using attack drones’ –
Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said Saturday the group was using new weapons in its attacks against Israel, as exchanges of fire on Lebanon’s southern border intensify.
Nasrallah’s speech prompted a warning from Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, who said Lebanese citizens would “pay the price” and added: “What we’re doing in Gaza, we can also do in Beirut.”
On Sunday, Israeli fighter jets pounded Hezbollah hideouts in southern Lebanon with strikes, after an incoming anti-tank missile wounded several Israeli civilians near the border, the army said.
